Egypt?s government tried to get the nation back to work on Sunday and people queued in Cairo when banks opened for the first time in a week as protests to force President Hosni Mubarak to quit entered their 13th day. Egypt?s central bank moved 5 billion Egyptian pounds ($854 million) of cash into the financial system as depositors gain access to their savings for the first time in more than a week and the government seeks to resume debt sales.
With some Egyptians keen for a return to normal after unrest that the United Nations says killed 300 people, the government has warned of the damage to political stability and the economy. ?We want people to go back to work and to get paid, and life to get back to normal,? army commander Hassan al-Roweny said.
The Egyptian pound opened weaker against the US dollar after the week-long bank closure. ?The pound started off down as widely expected, but not with the magnitude one would have thought,? one trader said.
Many Egyptians say they want to return to normal life. Many shops have been closed during 12 days of protests and banks have been shut, making it hard for Egyptians to stock up on basic goods.
The central bank used military cargo planes to bring in the cash, governor Farouk El-Okdah told state-run television. The bank, which has $36 billion in reserves and guarantees deposits, said last week that customers can withdraw up to 50,000 Egyptian pounds and $10,000 a day and lenders had enough liquidity to meet all demands.